OSCE observes use of large-caliber weapons by both conflicting sides in Donbass

Aug 13 2015

Interfax

Interfax

The ceasefire has been violated 59 times on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in the past 24 hours, the DNR Defense Ministry has reported.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is observing the use of weapons with calibers larger than 120mm by both conflicting sides in Donbass although these armaments shall be withdrawn from the contact line, OSCE SMM Deputy Chief Monitor Alexander Hug said on Aug. 13.

He said at a press briefing in Kiev that the mission had reported the use of heavy weapons with 122mm and 152mm calibers by both sides.

He also said that the fighting in the Donetsk region was concentrated on Horlivka, the remains of the Donetsk airport, Maryinka, Krasnohorivka and Avdiivka.

In addition, monitors have been observing an increase in civilian casualties and damages done to residential buildings and infrastructure during shelling in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Hug said.

Meanwhile, the DNR Defense Ministry has reported, that ceasefire has been violated 59 times on the territory of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in the past 24 hours.

"The number of ceasefire breaches by the Ukrainian side has more than doubled and has amounted to 59 instances in the past 24 hours," a DNR ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the Donetsk news agency.

Some of the heaviest shelling was reported in residential areas in the town of Horlivka and the outskirts of Donetsk. Strikes were also conducted against the towns of Yasynuvata and Dokuchayevsk, as well as the localities of Ozeryanivka, Bela Kamenka, Komunarivka, Sakhanka, Nova Maryivka, Vesele, and Nova Laspa. It was reported earlier that one woman had been killed and another three civilians had been injured as a result of the strikes.

For his part, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (SNBO) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov, said, when commenting on the situation in the conflict area in Ukraine's eastern regions, that more than 150 strikes against the Ukrainian army's positions observed in the past 24 hours effectively mean hostilities.